Before The Award: Arooj Aftab's 'Mohabbat'
Credit: Blythe Thomas
Earlier this month, the 64th annual GRAMMY saw Arooj Aftab win the Best Global Music Performance award for her single ‘Mohabbat’ - making her the first Pakistani artist to win a GRAMMY. After was also the first winner of the new category, and the first Pakistani woman to be nominated for a GRAMMY.
‘Mohabbat’ is taken from Aftab’s third album ‘Vulture Prince’, which was released in April of last year. The artist has collected allocates internationally for her genre-blending style that incorporates elects of jazz, minimalism and neo-Sufi.
Prior to this year’s GRAMMYs, Aftab’s 2021 single ‘Mohabbat’ received nods from the likes of Pitchfork, TIME and even former president Barack Obama - who included the track in his summer playlist. Last year, the playlist included tracks from the likes of Genesis Owusu, Mitski, Lil Nas X and fellow 2022 GRAMMY award winner John Batiste, who took home the trophy for Best XX. During an interview with Berklee College of Music, Aftab reflected on the impact of the playlist add, explaining that she received an influx of followers and notifications on the morning it was released.
As 2021 rolled on, Aftab continued dominating screens worldwide, performing for NPR’s Tiny Desk series, Genius' Open Mic, and Coca-Cola’s Coke Studio. Earlier this year, she was named Spotify Pakistan’s Artist of the Month for Womens’ History Month. Following that, she covered Rosalía’s 'Di Mi Nombre' and her own track 'Baghon Main' for Spotify Singles, as a result of her nomination for Best New Artist.
On the live performance front, 2021 also saw Aftab tour across the UK, Europe and USA. Last week, she performed at Coachella, and will return for the festival's second event this weekend.
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